The Demise of the Dollar... and Why It's Great For Your Investments [Paperback]

Addison Wiggin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2005

As the dollar continues to weaken against other currencies, it is increasingly clear that this event will have a significant impact on investors and consumers around the world. Never before has the "reserve currency of the world" been so burdened by debt or suffered from such serious structural imbalances. The Demise of the Dollar . . . And Why It’s Great for Your Investments examines the reasons for the dollar’s current slide and offers an up-close look at the Federal Reserve’s attempts to "manage" the dollar’s value. Filled with in-depth insights, wry wit, and sound advice, this intriguing text offers an inside glimpse of the reality of today’s dollar and its impact on the world’s economies as well as readers’ personal portfolios.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Our long history of economic power and wealth is being eroded from within," writes Addison Wiggin, and the result will be reduced foreign investment, slow foreign demand for U.S. goods, and unfavorable currency exchange rates. A heavy debt burden, the trade deficit, and structural imbalances have created an unstable dollar bubble, and according to Wiggin, it's not a matter of if the bubble will burst, but when. That's the bad news. The good news is that hidden investment opportunities are waiting behind the weakening dollar. In The Demise of the Dollar… and Why It's Great for Your Investments Wiggin offers advice to readers looking to capitalize on this reality; specifically, he encourages investing in precious metals, tangible resources, and some select foreign markets.

Along with investment advice, Wiggin provides a brief history of government and consumer spending habits and how they have changed over the past 200 years. In clear language, he states the reasons for the dollar's decline, and provides explanations of the forces behind inflation, modern corporate accounting and adjustment schemes, the parallels between corporate failures and government policies, the implications of the national debt and deficit spending, and the distinctions between productive and consumptive debt. He also discusses how foreign countries, particularly China, are ultimately in control of the U.S.'s economic fate due to the staggering amount of credit they have extended. Wiggin is highly critical of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's policies, particularly the massive shift from production to credit that he has espoused, and calls into question his efforts to manage the dollar's value. Of course, Greenspan was not working alone--every president since Ronald Reagan has embraced his views. Written for lay readers, The Demise of the Dollar offers a practical analysis of what the "twilight of the Great Dollar Standard Era" may bring. --Shawn Carkonen

Review

"...getAbstract.com strongly recommends this" (getAbstract.com, 12^th September 2005)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (August 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471746010
• ISBN-13: 978-0471746010
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 88 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Correct Conclusions, Near-Zero Support for the Conclusions August 18, 2005

By C. Brown

Format:Paperback

I am a deep believer in most of the conclusions Mr. Wiggin presents. I have been following him and every single one of his "cohorts" for almost a decade and am very familiar with the conclusions he espouses. I bought the book with the hope that it would summarize the conclusions AND THE LOGIC/DATA BEHIND THESE CONCLUSIONS.

Unfortunately, the book is extremely poorly written. It has numerous unintentional, grammatical errors (did anyone proofread the book?), but this is neither my primary nor secondary complaint. My main complaints are:

1) The author bounces from issue to issue, conclusion to conclusion, often changing subjects within paragraphs. The book lacks structural logic. This makes it nearly impossible for even a seasoned reader of his ideas to follow.

2) The author repeatedly states his conclusions but fails to then back them up with data or logic. Whatever happened to the "scientific method?" Any opponent of his conclusions will have an easy time dismissing his conclusions. Does he really have data for most of his conclusions? I doubt it - even though I am from his camp.

It saddened me to see "our conclusions" so poorly presented. No wonder most economists view these conclusions as harebrained.

180 of 207 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Deeply Moving... As In, Time To Pack Up and Go August 3, 2005

By Jack T.

Format:Paperback

I spend a lot of time travelling overseas. And I can tell you first hand, one doesn't need to read tomes on the coming collapse in the dollar to see what lies ahead. You can feel it every time you reach for your wallet or pay for a coffee.

The dollar is quickly entering the circle of second-class world citizenship. That said, Wiggin's account is artful, direct, and thorough. I liked the historical aspect. But I especially like the way he's hitting on what's happening today. That includes all the things nobody seems to want to talk about or admit.

But there's no denying, if we don't face up to them now... the greenback is doomed. And with it, all the things that depend on America keeping a stakehold in the world economy. Wiggin makes that point and makes it hard. This is an eye-opener, worth reading.

104 of 119 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Times Are Changing August 16, 2005

By K. Johnson VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Addison Wiggin explained the concepts he's informing us about in a very likeable manner and latest quick read, "Demise of the Dollar."

Wiggin touched on many concepts and wrote them in a way that will interest us "non-economist-but-interested folks." The Helicopter theory, pathological consumption, and wealth-driven consumption are delved into. Wiggin noted the many positive to a weaker dollar in comparison to a stronger one. He also gives us aspects of this weaker dollar that can benefit the investor, making this an appropriate and contemporary book. He notes accurately that the greenback is not the mainstay, and explains why and what the potential ramifications will be.

American fiscal actions and solvency are explained with some focus on the individual financial habits and psychology of the American consumer, whose spending on consumption propels 2/3 of the American economy. American government and consumer debt is noted.

As for the consumer, average per capita debt ratio is the highest in U.S. history, and home equity ownership is the lowest in U.S. history. Wealth in residential real estate, propelled low interest rates, interest-only loans, significant speculation, and pop-flipping, Americans may well be in a state of denial about the strength of the U.S. economy and their personal economic situation: a high percentage of net worth allocated in residential real estate - the house they just happen to be living in. All it will take is an economic hiccup. And, if there is no hiccup, we have wages that are flat and even declining in comparison to housing values and increasing levels of taxation.

There are many factors involved in valuation of currencies....

As Wiggin notes the positives of a weaker dollar,

Obviously, a weaker dollar benefits the U.S. economy as it's more interdependent upon our global economy. A weaker dollar can stimulate the creation of jobs, as well as maintain them. The American policy makers claim that want a strong dollar and promote and ostensibly proclaim a "strong dollar policy." This is not the case, as we all know.

But the question of the future may be: how low is good, and how low becomes bad?

Worth noting is that currency reserves held by foreign countries in part, are positioned by confidence in a currency and an economy.

The American economic engine may very well continue to plough along, with high debt ratios spurring longer work hours and most importantly, boosts in per capita worker efficiency.

As of August, 2005, the dollar is actually strengthening a bit.

Economists can explain the past, but they can't foretell the future, just like the rest of us. Read more ›

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not much new and not very helpful September 11, 2005

By Doc Joe

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Maybe I expected too much. I would say give a couple of chapters on how things are terrible and the dollar is worth nothing, then use the rest of the book giving investment advice. Unfortunately, he did just the opposite, pounding us over the head for chapter after chapter about the dollar and debt and all the other bad things that are happening. Very little specific investment advice. Skip it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Financial Reckoning Day Redux October 8, 2005

By peter

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

A rehash of his "Financial Reckoning Day" and if you ordered via Amazon.com you received a six page email invitation to subscribe to an options trading financial newsletter.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wig out with Addison Wiggin January 15, 2007

By B. Adams

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Though not nearly as fun to read as Empire of Debt, it's an excellent read about the current state of affairs in the US. This is a no-nonsense, un-shellacked account of the US economy and answers some of those questions we all have floating around in our heads (such as: The media and government say the economy is doing great but why does it seem like I have less money to live on each year?) If you're feeling depressed lately, you may want to put this one aside for awhile. But if you desire to learn how to profit from the current US slide, pick it up.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Wiggin is a deceitful cheat! September 10, 2005

By Dr. K. R. Higgins

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was dumb enuf to pay for a book that was nothing more than a come-on (marketing tool) for the host of Agora newsletters, etc. he publishes. There was nothing, repeat nothing new in the book. The only part slightly of value was a list of types of investments to consider. And he gave that chapter away a few days later in "The Daily Reckoning". He just collected a bunch of short essays (read chapters) already published for free, called it a book, hyped it, and got suckers like me to buy it. What a waste of time--and money! Never again!